Ken Whisenhunt in uncharted territory with two rookie tackles

Posted by Michael David Smith on November 17, 2012, 11:42 AM EDT

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The Cardinals will start two rookies at offensive tackle on Sunday, with seventh-round draft pick Nate Potter getting his first start on the left side, while fourth-rounder Bobby Massie continues to start on the right side. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt has never seen that before and isn’t sure what to think about it.

According to Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910, the last time any NFL team started two rookies at offensive tackle was in 2009, when the Jaguars did it. And in Jacksonville, they were starting a high first-round pick (Eugene Monroe) and a high second-round pick (Eben Britton). Starting a fourth-round rookie and a seventh-round rookie is uncharted territory.

But that’s where the Cardinals are right now, in desperate need of help on the offensive line and down to starting a seventh-round pick at left tackle. Whisenhunt can only shake his head at the direction things are going in.

“What is there to say besides it’s not good enough?” Whisenhunt said.

When you’re on a five-game losing streak, you can’t say much more than that.

Cardinals fan since 1970 and think Whisenhunt is a fantastic coach. But, Rod Graves isn’t doing Whiz any favors by ignoring the line year after year. While it’s certainly exciting to draft a playmaker in the first round every year, the line has been verging on the worst in the NFL for years. This year, they’ve grabbed that distinction with clarity…

It wouldn’t have mattered if the Cardinals had picked up Peyton Manning in the offseason: the O-line is spectacularly inept.